Levy never did get to talk to Droy that night before she'd headed home. It had been pretty late, so she and Jet had simply said their goodbyes and parted ways. She had considered asking Jet to talk to Droy- and wouldn't be too surpised if he dropped a hint or two anyway- but decided it was best if she actually do it herself.
Now, as she awoke, she was rather looking forward to the new day, stretching before almost literally hopping out of bed. She picked out something cute to wear, and had just started on her hair when a commotion began to pick up in the hallway. Wonder what that's about. But she gave it little other thought until a voice rang through clearly just outside her door.
"Everyone, wake up! Get out here! It's the guild!"
Levy tripped over several books in her scramble to the door. As she flung it open, she saw Chico, the dorm owner's daughter, looking frantic. "Levy! It's terrible, the guild! We- we have to-!"
"Hey, slow down!" Levy put a hand on the older girl's shoulder in a vain attempt to calm her. "Now what's going on?" She wasn't even sure how broad that question was. Girls seemed to be panicking throughout the halls, and several of Chico's souls and Mickey's birds swarmed about, adding to the chaos.
"The guild hall has been destroyed." It was Bisca behind them.
"What!?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "When, how!?"
"You'll see soon enough. We're all heading there now to see what we can do." Levy nodded and went to ensure she had everything she needed.
-
When the Fairy Hills group arrived, they found a number of members already there and working- or trying to. Levy spotted Jet and Droy among them, examining one of the many massive pillars protruding from the building. Any thoughts of her intended conversation for the day long since abandoned, she rushed over to them.
"How could this happen...?" Levy's voice was weak as she fought back tears. Surely she would wake up any minute, at home in her bed. "Who would do something like this?"
"Phantom Lord," spat Jet; Levy's shocked gaze snapped to the words.
"One of the shopkeepers nearby said they saw a large man bearing Phantom's emblem leaving the scene," Droy explained. In the meantime, he was double-checking every type of seed he owned, desperately hoping he'd just forgotten one that could have the strength to move something so enormous, but he found none.
"After that, some of us started asking around and got some similar reports. Apparently several high-ranking Phantom wizards were seen in town last night.." Jet grit his teeth and sneered. "Asking about Fairy Tail."
Levy was still in disbelief. "But why..." Nearby, others were fairing no better. Elfman had tried and failed to move a pillar with his great strength, and now cried to Mira, who did her best to comfort him. A crying Romeo and terrified Macao comforted one another. Laki attempted to use her Wood Make magic to push a pillar away, but minimal progress was made before the timbers snapped under the great weight. Whoever had done this must have been a monster, both mentally and physically. Laxus may have been able to help, but he and the Legion were off on a job. Certainly Gildarts would be strong enough, but no one had heard from him since he left years ago.
Likely Makarov would be their only hope. Already Levy could spot one empty hole where their Master had removed a pillar, heaven only knew what he'd done with it after, but disheartened as they all were he had quickly shifted his efforts into making certain the guild could continue to function before worrying about how it looked.
She could not hold onto her tears any longer. "Why would they do something like this?"
To that, they had no answer. But Jet pulled her closer and allowed her to cry into his chest while Droy continued searching in vain for any way to help.
-
After a while, Levy was about cried out, and Droy had thoroughly given up, so they simply joined the majority of the guild in making the basement usable, setting up tables and chairs and moving the thankfully-in-tact request board.
Once it was suitable enough, they found a table of their own and simply sat for a while, absorbing everything that had happened. Tomorrow they would start taking jobs again, and once all the pillars were removed they might do what they could to help with repairs. It seemed Makarov had taken to drinking off his rage for today, though, so said repairs were just going to have to wait for now. Levy couldn't blame him. No one could, really.
She might have gone for a drink herself, but Levy was an absolutely giddy drunk. Even if it would probably improve her mood, it felt... inappropriate.
As they whiled the day away, they would occasionally get up to help someone else just arriving get up to speed or talk with others seated nearby, but mostly they kept to themselves. It was clear to everyone that the longer they did nothing, the more everyone's mood was souring, but Makarov had been explicit in his orders.
Levy barely noticed when Lucy and her team arrived, back from their overnight job it seemed. Mira seemed to be filling them in already, however, and confessing her crush at this point was essentially the furthest thing from her mind.
Suddenly, Droy gave a groan and slumped back in his chair, nearly lying down, whether from defeat or frustration Levy didn't know. "Man, this is such bullshit."
"It is.." Her voice was smaller than usual.
With a huff, Jet added, "We've never been on the best terms with those Phantom jerks, but c'mon." Levy could tell he was about a hair strand away from starting up his fidgeting, and she honestly felt for him as she realized just how hard sitting still must be for him especially. Asking Jet to do literally-nothing was like asking Natsu to calm down or Gray to keep his clothes on. If he didn't burn off that energy somehow he was likely to burst soon enough.
"Wanna teach 'em a lesson?" Droy wasn't even sure himself if this was sarcastic. Really, it was about equal parts a sincere desire and a 'yeah, right, what could we even do'.
Levy wasn't taking the risk, though. "Back off, you guys." She hoped Phantom got what was coming to them as much as the next Fairy, but as Makarov had noted, retaliating would only make things worse. "Don't you think we're in enough trouble already?" Their situation, physically and financially, was bad enough without having the Magic Council breathing down their necks to boot; and even if she couldn't imagine what Phantom Lord could have possibly had against them, she did hope that they'd gotten it out of their system and would just leave them alone. On top of all that, Levy couldn't stand the thought of her boys rushing off and getting themselves hurt or worse.
Droy gave a little groan. "Yeah... yeah." He sighed. "I just wish there was somethin' we could do, ya know?"
Jet nodded a bit swiftly. "Has anyone reported this to the council yet?" He seemed to be talking a bit faster than usual as well.
Levy nodded. "We're gonna try, but with nothing but a few local witnesses they probably won't get more than a small reprimand. If we're lucky, maybe a small sum to help with the repairs."
"Really lucky," corrected Droy. "The Council hates us as it is."
"That's true." Levy's frown deepened.
"Manthatsucks." And there came the taptaptaptap of his foot. "Iwonderifwecouldgetanymoreevidenceyaknow?"
Even in a time of crisis, Jet was Jet; Levy supposed she was thankful for that. Forcing a weak smile at him, she changed the subject. "Hey... In all the commotion, I don't think any of us have really eaten today. Do you wanna run and pick us something up?"
His ears almost visibly perked at the word 'run'. "Y-yeah," he answered, quickly standing and doing his best not to look too relieved. He was still aching as much as any of them, he just.. Yeah. "I'll uh. I'll be right back."
Levy gave him a little wave. "Take your time." The moment he headed for the door, she let the smile fall away and sighed again.
"You don't tend to eat much when you're upset, do you?" Droy asked, finally shifting to sit properly in his chair.
"Not really," Levy answered with a shrug. "But you do, right?"
His face heated a bit. He supposed it wasn't really much of a secret that he turned into a glutton when he was especially down, but it still wasn't something he was especially proud of. "I guess." Either way though. He moved a hand under the table to place on Levy's knee. "That was a really great idea, though. He really did need it."
A slightly less forced smile came out, if just for a second or two. "Thanks." Even in times of crisis, Levy was still Levy as well, and the praise and doting of her eternal fanboys was always sure to lift her spirits, even if only a little.
-
Morning had come, and Gajeel had waited.
High noon shone, and Gajeel had waited.
The afternoon waned, and Gajeel had waited.
The horizon glowed with evening light, and it became clear to Gajeel that no one was coming to play. He had watched from a distance as Fairy after Fairy entered the hall, but not once had a group come out looking ready to fight. There were tears, frustration, even anger, but it wasn't enough. That creepy little master of theirs seemed to be keeping everyone in check and utterly ruining Gajeel's plans.
Just as he was thinking this had all been a waste of effort, a fairy did come racing out at- whoa! Gajeel jumped to attention and began racing across rooftops following the trail of dust left by the figure, but he didn't stand a chance. "What the hell." He snarled as he stopped to rest against a chimney. The little fly was mocking him. He punched the rock beside him, sending several chips of it flying.
Although he could still see the dust and the general direction it was headed, there was simply no way he was going to catch up. Absolutely fuming, he headed back to watch the guild hall.
A bit later, however, dust began to kick up in the distance again- the fast fly coming back? He found a more discreet spot from which to watch and kept his eyes peeled. He hadn't gotten a good look before, but as the figured slowed in front of the guild entrance, he felt certain it was the same guy. Taking note of his key features, Gajeel broke into a grin. He'd just had a marvelous idea.
If the carnage he'd wrought wasn't enough to provoke the Fairy bastards, he'd just have to take things up a notch- and maybe teach this particular bastard never to mock the Iron Dragon Slayer.
-
The day dragged into night. Jet felt better after burning some energy, Droy felt better after replenishing some energy, and even Levy was starting to feel a bit more like herself. They could make it through this. They just had to stay positive.
As people began drifting out of the hall for the evening, Makarov (somewhat belatedly) insisted that no one go alone. They had no way of knowing whether or not Phantom's goons were still hanging around, and there was safety in numbers, he said.
This further perked up Levy as she saw a little silver lining. "In that case, I'll go with the boys," she said. Both were quite surprised, unused to such openness from her, but who was complaining? Certainly not Jet or Droy! "After all, they aren't nearly as strong when it's just the two of them."
Gee, thanks Levy. Both deadpanned a bit.
"Since we're used to fighting together, we'll be the safest staying together~" No one could find any flaw with that logic, so no one thought anything of it when the trio left together.
This was the second time, then. The second time that Levy had left the guild hall with Jet and Droy to stay the night at their place, each time with others aware she was doing so. The first time, only about a week before, it had only been Makarov and Lucy; but this time a large portion of the guild knew... and no one seemed to care!
Sure, logically she could tell herself it was because there was a pressing reason each time, but that didn't change the fact that this was happening. If.. if others started getting used to the idea of the three of them being together at all hours, then... maybe she could start staying over whenever she wanted? Maybe even come out about the relationship, eventually, if she became confident enough that no one would care. The last bit was a little more of a stretch, but... this was still the first step!
And for that, Levy was not only in a better mood; she was elated. Had anyone who had seen her in the guild hall earlier moping seen her now, walking with her arms outstretched in an 'airplane' manner and positively beaming, they would have sworn it was night and day.
So jarring was the difference, in fact, that the guys were each a little worried for her. "Hey... You sure this is okay?" Droy asked.
A shadow moved along the rooftops.
"Shouldn't you stay with Laki and the others at the girls's dorm?" Jet offered. Both of them knew being even this open was likely to be difficult for her, and they didn't want her to feel like she had to risk exposure if she didn't want to. They could probably take care of themselves if safety was the only issue.
The source of the voices was almost in his line of sight.
"It's fine, I don't wanna split up our team~" Levy teased, all but singing as she did.
She laughed silently to herself as the boys dramatically swooned, and then seemed to perk up themselves. Their thoughts began to align with hers on where this could lead longterm, though admittedly each was a bit more concerned with the shortterm possibilities than Levy was.
But honestly, she was excited! She could imagine their own hopes for the evening, and was even considering it, even if she hadn't decided for sure just yet.
Red eyes set on the man in the furry hat before examining his companions.
"The three of us can face anything together!" Jet boasted, absolutely swelling with Shadow Gear pride now. He would say this was the sort of solidarity he'd envisioned as a kid, but honestly he never would have imagined things quite like this.
That was the cocky bastard all right.
"I'll always protect you!" Droy enthused, feeling better than he had all day.
Gajeel leapt from his perch.
"No I will!" Jet teased, as if there was any question that they would both do their best to protect her forever. But even as the words left him, something else caught their ears.
Jet didn't have time to finish turning around before he saw a flash a pavement, and then everything went black. Who's running now?
A whole second may or may not have elapsed before Droy hit the ground as well, knocked out by an iron club to the head; wait, that wasn't a club at all.
Levy's place as third in line combined with her size were the only reasons she got a decent look at their attacker, just barely managing to duck when he finally turned to her. The man was huge, even without the excess added by standing on Jet's back, and his grin was the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen. The sick bastard was enjoying this!
Fueled by something of a fight-and-flight, she rolled out of the way of his next attack and cried out, "Solid Script: Fire!" She didn't like fighting, and this was definitely not a spell she'd typically use on another human but he hurt her team. Tears rolled down her face, but gone were qualms of morality or pacifism.
The monster didn't even flinch. To her horror, he walked straight through the flames, slowly, foreboding. His skin- no, he was covered in scales now!- glowed red, but cooled quickly. "Afraid you're gonna have to turn up the heat, little girl." His voice was like throwing rusty nails in a blender.
Now that he'd seen her magic, he'd decided there was no need to rush; he'd make her squirm first, teach her the consequences of trying to trade blows with Black Steel Gajeel.
As her heart raced harder, she tried to distance herself and gave it another shot. "Solid Script: Lightning!"
An arm raised, once again becoming metallic- that looked exactly like the columns in the guild hall!- and turned him into a lightningrod. For a moment the metal at least looked blackened, but when it reverted to flesh, he appeared unscathed.
Sweat poured; her blood boiled; tears continued to stream. "Solid Script: Oil!"
Finally, some progress! The bigger they were, the harder they fell, and Levy was pretty sure the pavement cracked as this guy fell on his ass. She knew it was too soon to celebrate, however, and sure enough the maneuver bought her only a few seconds before he was back on his feet, more pissed than before.
"Bad move, half-pint."
"Solid Script: Gua-" "Iron Dragon Hammer!" He cast just a hair faster than she, and the girl hit the ground without finishing her own spell.
"Damn shame," Gajeel spat. She was actually pretty cute, all things considered. Had she just accepted her fate, he might've even gone easy on her. But she had to go and ruin it by being defiant, just like a certain other bluenette he knew.
This Fairy trash needed to learn its place. This whole guild, this whole job, was making him sick.
Spotting the pool of oil from her earlier attack, he suddenly had the perfect idea. He picked up the word girl by the back of her vest and carried her over to the pool, then knelt down and used it to draw Phantom Lord's emblem. Just in case the other little flies didn't understand just who they were dealing with. He then decided the other two didn't look roughed up enough, and beat them a couple extra times for good measure.
Of course, from there, he couldn't just leave them in the streets. Who knew how long it would be before someone saw them. No, they needed to be on proper display. That would show them.
Ideally, they would realize they were outmatched, come crying, begging for it to stop. Phantom could present its demands, and the world would see what a bunch of sniveling weaklings the guild really was next to the awesome might of Phantom.
If, however, they decided to retaliate, well.. Gajeel would simply have to grind every last one of them into dust. ... Wait, which one was ideal again?
Seeing it as a win-win whatever the Fairies did, Gajeel gathered all three of the wizards with relative ease and headed toward the nearest city landmark in South Gate Park.
-
A/N: The conflict has begun. As always, reviews are much loved~